You Must Consider Your Stack Size in Holdem Poker

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You Must Consider Your Stack Size in Holdem Poker

When playing no limit poker, the stack size of every player at the table is critical. Let's explore a few examples of how these decisions are affected by stack size. Hopefully, after identifying these situations, you will see the value in noting your opponents stack sizes.

Here is a simple hand situation showing how play varies due to stack size. You are in a NL Holdem game with $1/$2 blinds. You are in the small blind with no action yet. You have $500 and hold 4,4. The player that's the big blind has only $25, so you can simply go all in or make a bet and push after the flop. This should make you money.

Let's see what happens if we change the big blinds stack to $500. Pushing all in wouldn't be such a good idea. Even though you would win the blinds often, getting called spells disaster. You will normally lose $500 trying to steal $3.

Let's look at it in an exaggerated way. How about having $100,000 all in for the $3. Your opponent calls with AA and nothing else, only a 1/220 chance. So in 220 tries you win three dollars 219 times. When AA hits he wins 80% and you win 20%. So on average you lose over $79,000 for every 220 tries.

If you could convince the guy with a $25 stack to only play A,A you can push all in and make money consistently. You will show a nice profit even without ever winning when he has A,A.

Now, let's say you have 3,3 with $500. The blinds are $1/$2 and you limp in. The BB raises to $10. Depending on his stack you could call, fold, or raise.

If he has $15 you could do any of the three options and be correct. How well you know your opponent is the deciding factor. If he has something like $40 this is an easy fold.

WIth this hand, you need to get that 3rd three to be confident to win and that is only a one out of eight times event. And, you are only going to make five times the $8 if you had called. Given a $500 stack, you can easily call and when you hit your hand, you might make way more than the 8 times you need to for long term profits.

Holding 6,7 suited is a good hand when the table is full of chips. You can make big bucks when this type of hand hits. When everyone is short stacked this hand just can't get paid enough on the few times it actually hits.

With A,A or K,K you will find yourself in some difficult situations when players have lots of cash. It's very hard to know if these pairs are still good, so you will find yourself paying off people who hit the flop.

This situation is reversed with small stacks at the table and you can get aggressive with the big pairs. Often the preflop betting will commit you to the hand anyway. This is pretty mindless poker.

When everyone has radically different stack sizes this can get complex. Regardless, when you want to bet, you have to consider the stack size of each player involved.

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